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An American airline has apologised after a member of staff was accused of ridiculing five-year-old Abcde Redford’s name.

Traci Redmond was travelling with her daughter, who pronounces her name “ab-si-dee”, when she said a Southwest Airlines boarding gate employee at at California’s John Wayne Airport began laughing and took a photograph of the child’s boarding pass, before posting it online.

“The gate agent started laughing, pointing at me and my daughter, talking to other employees. So I turned around and said, 'Hey if I can hear you, my daughter can hear you, so I'd appreciate if you'd just stop,’” she told ABC7 News.

They were travelling to their home in El Paso, Texas, and were boarding early as Abcde has epilepsy.

"While I was sitting there, she took a picture of my boarding pass and chose to post it on social media, mocking my daughter,” said Ms Redmond.

The boarding pass posted online

“It was actually brought to my attention by somebody who had seen it on Facebook and reported it to Southwest Airlines. And after two weeks of doing a formal complaint, Southwest hadn't done anything.”

The airline apologised to the family in a statement.

“We take great pride in extending our Southwest Hospitality to all of our Customers, which includes living by the Golden Rule and treating every individual with respect, in person or online. The post is not indicative of the care, respect, and civility we expect from all of our employees,” it said, although it declined to say what action it had taken against its member of staff.

The name Abcde may be rare but it is not unique.

In 2014, seven-year-old Abcde Santos, who has autism, made headlines when she was turned away from a shopping centre Santa’s grotto because of the pit bull service dog